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Examining folkloric, paranormal & cryptozoological locations in the UK and beyond

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Inn Ghosts, Folklore and Forteana

Eliza Jane

Location: Oldham (Greater Manchester) - Old Original Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Eliza was found drowned in a nearby well - no one knew for sure whether she jumped or was pushed. Either way, her ghost is now seen in and around the area of her favourite public house.

Figure in Short Sleeved Shirt

Location: Oldham (Greater Manchester) - Star Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late 1991
Further Comments: Called out to investigate the intruder alarm, the owner of the Star Inn could find no reason why the alarm had been activated. When the security video footage was checked, a ghostly man in a short sleeved shirt, dark trousers and hat could be seen drifting down a corridor and entering the room where the alarm had been tripped.

Woman in Black

Location: Olney (Buckinghamshire) - Castle Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: The landlord's wife and a customer spotted a woman in black eighteenth century clothing and another witness watched a man walk through a sealed door. An exorcism was performed, but a few years later the ghostly woman was seen again. A legend says that a phantom horse and coach pass through the pub once a year, though no-one knows the exact date.

Grey Man

Location: Ormskirk (Lancashire) - Old Ship Inn, aka Abblets shoe shop, Moor street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1980s
Further Comments: This tall male ghost appears quite solid, yet greyish in colour. He stands by the front upstairs window, overlooking the main road. A strong smell of tobacco could also be detected within the building.

Victorian Gentleman

Location: Oswaldtwistle (Lancashire) - Duckworth Hall Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Twentieth Century
Further Comments: Dressed in period costume, this chap still pops into his former local for a swift half pint. His ghostly form sits in the corner of one of the public rooms. Another story says the site is home to a Catholic priest who had been held in the building prior to his execution at Whalley Abbey.

Former Landlord

Location: Oundle (Northamptonshire) - Ship Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Faced with too much stress, this one time owner took his own life by jumping from an upper window, and now haunts the building.

Cavalier

Location: Outer London: Harefield, Hillingdon (Greater London) - Fisheries Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: This swordsman has been seen walking around this public house, disturbing any pets that pass in his way. A ghostly monk is also reported to reside in one of the bedrooms here.

Water Spirit

Location: Outer London: Hounslow (Greater London) - Bell Inn
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This destructive entity, named as a highwayman hanged just across the road, is blamed for turning on taps and smashing barrels of beer.

Sounds of a Pig

Location: Oxford (Oxfordshire) - Black Drummer Inn (no longer standing)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A room here was haunted by 'piggy' sounds, and a leather bag was found partly eaten by something with large teeth. The spirit was destroyed when the corpse belonging to the presence was dug up from a nearby churchyard, hacked to pieces and burnt by a wise man.

Girl in Nightdress

Location: Oxted (Surrey) - Crown Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1970s
Further Comments: This figure was reported several times along an upstairs corridor and was thought to be a former landlady. She can be heard walking around late at night. A phantom man has also been reported, standing by the fireplace.

Greensleeves

Location: Padiham (Lancashire) - Red Rock Inn
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1990s-2000s
Further Comments: People in this inn would hear Greensleeves being played, although the source could never be found. Glasses would move around and on one occasion a crystal bowl exploded.

Man

Location: Padstow (Cornwall) - Ship Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown, possibly twenty-first century
Further Comments: Father Chris was called in to bless the inn after a ghostly man was spotted standing by a bed.


The White Hart, Padstow.

Wilfred

Location: Padstow (Cornwall) - The White Hart (no longer an operational inn)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Mid twentieth century
Further Comments: The haunting presence at this former inn was named Wilfred and was believed to be a priest who had died there a few years previous. Footsteps could be heard walking down the stairs, and a loud rasping sound came from one of the bedrooms.

John Henry

Location: Paignton (Devon) - Blagdon Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: John hanged himself in a nearby barn hundreds of years previous, though his presence is still blamed should anything go wrong in the pub.

Wee Bud

Location: Paisley (Renfrewshire) - Bell Inn, New Street
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1994
Further Comments: A ghostly young child dressed in black gained the nickname of Wee Bud. Another entity, nicknamed the Lady in the Cellar, was thought to be a landlady from the early twentieth century.

Bottom Pincher

Location: Peasmarsh (Sussex) - Horse & Cart Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: This spirit is blamed whenever a female bottom is pinched. Yeah, right.

Isabelle

Location: Peebles (Borders) - Tibbie Shiel's Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1999
Further Comments: Determined never to let the business that she started fail, the spirit of Isabelle 'Tibbie' Shiel haunts her inn, sometimes startling guests with her sudden appearances.

White Lady

Location: Penn (Buckinghamshire) - Crown Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local legend says that this area is haunted by a white lady and a small child. Minor polt activity is also reported, such as rattling doors, flickering lights and glasses being smashed. The presence is described as playful.

Elisabeth

Location: Penshurst (Kent) - Bottle House Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Felt rather than seen, this phantom lady has an unknown history.


Dolphin Inn, Penzance.

Captain in Tricorne

Location: Penzance (Cornwall) - Dolphin Inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This old seadog is said to have been hanged for a petty crime, and now puts in the occasional appearance in protest of his treatment.

Sailor

Location: Pershore (Worcestershire) - Angel Inn and Posting House
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: 1994?
Further Comments: This phantom sailor, dressed in a dark blue donkey jacket resembling Second World War uniform, has been observed several times in the dining room. He always stands in front of the fireplace.

Fred

Location: Peterborough (Cambridgeshire) - Cock Inn, Werrington
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Not much is known about this ghost, other than being nicknamed Fred.

Marbles

Location: Petersfield (Hampshire) - Sun Inn (aka Green Dragon public house), no longer an inn
Type: Poltergeist
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: This pub was haunted by strange sounds, including marble playing, running, and banging. Several witnesses watched a jug swinging on a hook with no obvious means of motion.


Nell Gwyn is said to haunt many a location.

Nell

Location: Pewsey (Wiltshire) - The Phoenix Inn (original building no longer stands)
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The king's mistress would stay at the inn when the King travelled and resided in a nearby manor house. Her spirit remained until the inn was demolished.

Wet Man

Location: Phillack (Cornwall) - Buck of Blood inn
Type: Haunting Manifestation
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This building is said to be haunted by a monk and a man dressed in wet ripped clothes. The latter ghost's body is said to have been discovered in a well on the site.

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